TIME & PLACE: That's why I think in the UK if everyone is subjected to a digital ID, it'll be worse than China, because they're running out of options. We already have one of the highest tax rates in the world, 40 to 45%, and there's only so much more they can raise from that.

Chinese man explains in 5 minutes what’s really behind Digital ID, showing it’s all about totalitarian control.

This is what you should show to everyone you know.  https://t.co/e0iI3fYA3Z

— Peter McLoughlin author (@pmclauth) October 19, 2025

Let's talk about digital ID I mainly lived in England but I also spent time in China where digital ID is everywhere and it's obvious to me that the English people the British people are being told a lie about what really digital ID is about right now they're telling you it's to stop illegal migration to stop illegals from working and to be able to provide easier access to services but these are all manufactured issues and they're being used as excuses to convince you that digital ID is the solution.

For too many years, it's been too easy for people to come here, slip into the shadow economy, and remain here illegally.  We do need to know who is in our country.  This government will make a new, free-of-charge, digital ID mandatory for the right to work.  --Keir Starmer

But it doesn't make any sense.  We already have passports, national Insurance numbers, and rights work checks when you look for a job, when you apply for a job.  Illegal migrants can still find work because their employers are not asking for ID they know it's illegal.  So by introducing further measures, it only applies to ordinary people.  And I think the prime minister and the people involved in this project they know that people are not buying it because now they are shifting their tone, they're making it sound like it's for you so you can have easier access to public services.

Not least because it means that you can access your own money, make payments so much more easily than is available with others.  So I think now we need to go out and make the case of the huge benefits that will this will bring.  There needs to be a national debate about it, but I think that the more people see the benefits that come with this, the more as has happened in other countries, people say that will make my life easier and therefore I want to get on with it.  --Keir Starmer

In China, they don't try to sugarcoat it everyone knows it's about surveillance and control but it works for China because it's authoritarian by design. Everyone has agreed to have freedom within boundaries.  They know what they can say, what they can't say, and what they can't do and what happens when they cross the line.  Because the law has consequences, and people stay within it.  It's strict but it's predictable.

Out of a possible 950 points, a score in the 700s is considered good.  Around the 500 mark is not.  For now, the number is sort of bank credit rating.  Keeping track of everyone's spending habits.  'I think being ranked is a good thing.  A society has to have rules.'  In theory, everything can be taken into account in the social score, even the most innocuous errands like supermarket shopping. When  Shiawin Wong makes an electronic payment, her purchases tell the state a lot about her. Buying cigarettes would count against her.  On the other hand, nappies show she's an attentive mother.  Beer could indicate alcoholism; she'd be better off buying water.

But that's not going to work for the UK.  The mindset, the people are very different. This is the birthplace of Magna Carta.  We don't want big government. They're trying to sell you the idea of modernization and efficiency, but that's not the end goal.  I think they're trying to create a centralized digital footprint for everybody, linking your money, your movement, and all your records.  This way they can find new ways to tax you more because that's what the UK government is run on, taxes, taxes from you.  That's why I think in the UK if everyone is subjected to a digital ID, it'll be worse than China, because they're running out of options.  We already have one of the highest tax rates in the world, 40 to 45%, and there's only so much more they can raise from that. Eventually once digital ID kicks in, it'll make it easier for them to be able to tax your assets, a wealth tax, and if more countries sign up to this just leaving the UK wouldn't be enough because there will be cooperation.  There will be cross border taxes with digital ID, making it easier.  In China, digital ID connects everything from your travel cards to your banks to what food you order from delivery apps.  If you break the law, break the rules, they can restrict access to your services and freeze your accounts because everything is made digitally. 99% of China doesn't use cash anymore.  Everything is digital on your phone, mobile payments, and it's all linked to a digital ID.  Once digital ID comes in and everything is digitalized and centralized, they'll know how much you have and how much they can take from you.  This is very worrying for the UK because this is supposed to be a democracy.  But over the past year, 12,000 people have been arrested for offensive comments and that's before digital ID comes into place.  Once it's introduced, every comment, every post will be linked back to your digital ID.  So my thoughts are it's not going to work for the UK, and it's not in the best interests of its people.